Thursday, March 26, 2015

Regional Conference Aims to Shut Down ISIS Funding from Antiquities Looting and Trafficking

EMERGENCY STRATEGY SESSION TO CONVENE IN CAIRO, MAY 13-14, 2015

View of Nile from Cairo Tower

(Washington, D.C.) – In response to the unprecedented destruction of historical sites and antiquities by ISIS in Syriaand Iraq, The Middle East Institute (MEI) and the Antiquities Coalition (AC) will co-sponsor a conference in Cairo fromMay 13-14 to promote ways in which the international community can address threats against the region’s culturalheritage.

The Cairo conference, titled “Culture Under Threat: The Security, Economic and Cultural Impact of Antiquities Theft inthe Middle East,” will be held under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry ofAntiquities. It will focus on regional solutions to the growing destruction, looting, and trafficking of antiquities acrossthe Middle East and the links between antiquities racketeering and terrorist financing.

“We must take coordinated action to stop this march of destruction, and this is our chance to advance solutions towhat is a true crisis,” said the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States, Mohamed Tawfik. “Theterrorists of Da'esh must be stopped and all the countries invited have a chance to do their part.”

Invited to attend are the foreign affairs and culture/antiquities ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia,Oman and the UAE, as well as the director general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, and leading experts on counterterrorism,terrorist financing, archaeology, and heritage law.

“Under Egypt’s leadership, this unprecedented gathering will bring together key countries to form a new and powerfulalliance,” said Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Co-Founder of The Antiquities Coalition, “and transform our collectiveoutrage into action. We may not yet be able to stop the sledgehammers, but these regional powers can impede theterrorists and criminals from profiting from stolen treasure. By standing together, these nations can do much to haltthe trafficking of illicit antiquities.”

The conference will open on the morning of Wednesday, May 13, and conclude on May 14.

“This timely conference is a call to action to stop the horrific destruction of our shared world heritage,” said WendyChamberlin, President of The Middle East Institute. Read the Press Release in Arabic Here.

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About The Antiquities Coalition

The Antiquities Coalition unites professionals from a diverse background joined in the fight against cultural racketeering – a global problem.
A diverse group of archaeologists, technology experts, writers and scholars came together around our common interest in protecting cultural heritage. The International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities (ICPEA) – an initiative of the Antiquities Coalition – was launched. Invited by the Egyptian government to discuss ways to best support them, the ICPEA and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities developed a public private partnership. The Partnership covers three main categories – training, education, and social entrepreneurship.
Our mission is to safeguard global heritage while inspiring people to appreciate our shared culture and empower local communities to steward and protect it.